Caught this beautiful sunset while we were at my Dad's house the other night. I’m saying a prayer of thanks for air conditioning! I’m not a fan of hot weather (I burn really easily and get heat stroke and terrible headaches when I’m in the sun too long). When we were house hunting in 1993, we happened to stop at an open house in a lovely neighborhood that I said I never wanted to live in before (I thought the school district was crappy)…and of course, we fell in love with the house. One of the things we loved was the air conditioning, something we’d never had before. 17 years later, I wouldn’t dream of living without it. It’s as essential as heat in the wintertime. Yes, I’m cold half the time but I can bundle up or take a hot shower and get warm.
It’s finally cooled down after several weeks of hot weather and the mornings have been deliciously cool…great walking weather. My hubby is happy with the cooler weather too… I may have mentioned before that he’s a UPS driver. What most people don’t know is that UPS trucks are not air-conditioned (even in Arizona or those other hot, humid states), which means that on a 98 degree day, the back of his truck is HOT (usually up between 130-140 degrees. He got a second-degree burn on his arm from one of the shelves last week. One of the things I was really conscious of when we owned our scrapbook store was how hard those driers work and how hot they get in weather like this, so I always had a cold bottle of water for our driver, Mark, who still is a driver! Last week one of his regular delivery stops had a cold bottle of Gatorade for him…which made his day. It made me think about the “random acts of kindness” that we can each do to make a difference in someone’s life. I’ve been thinking a lot about how I can leave my mark on this world. The book “In a Heartbeat, Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving” has given me an awareness about of the countless opportunities we have to touch someone’s life in a positive way, whether it’s just a smile and a happy greeting, helping someone load their groceries in the car or buying the next person in line their beverage or meal. It doesn’t have to be a grand gesture…someone gave Russell a cold Gatorade on a really hot day after he hauled 25 cases of paper up a flight of stairs to their office. He was so thrilled to get that cold drink and a thank you. I am challenging myself to look for opportunities to “cheerfully give”.
One of my favorite things about summer is the wonderful fruit. The grapes and strawberries have been especially delicious this year. Costco had yummy blackberries and raspberries yesterday when I went shopping. My aunt and uncle had a cherry orchard and it was such a treat to eat the cherries right off the tree. I remember my Mom spending a lot of time every summer picking fruit and making peach and strawberry freezer jam and canning fruits for the winter. At the time, I didn’t appreciate how much work went into preserving food. I don’t have a photo, but I have a picture in my mind of the shelves in our basement full of canned peaches, pears, etc.
After months of not feeling good, being so sore and achy all the time and other “symptoms”, my chiropractor (who is absolutely awesome and gives a great massage before every adjustment) told me that I needed to see a doctor. So after a huge round of lab tests (10 vials of blood, the most ever taken from me in a 24 hour period!), my doctor is referring me to a rheumatologist. In the meantime, I am taking a muscle relaxer and if needed, a pain medication to help me sleep and alleviate some of the pain. The process of elimination now begins…it’s seems clear from the lab tests so far that I have some type of auto-immune disease. My symptoms are similar to that of fibromyalgia, but they have to do more tests to figure what I don’t have in order to figure out what I do have. The good news…my kidney functions are better than they’ve been in over a year. Still not normal but the reality is that they won’t ever be “normal” again so I’ll take what I can get.
Have been taking early morning walks…sometimes I start out so slow I feel like a 100 year old turtle but after a few blocks, I can usually pick up the pace. Love walking in the mornings when everything is still covered with the morning dew and the neighborhoods are quiet except for the few early risers. Every morning I pass a house where an older gentleman always greets me with “Top of the morning to you miss”. Love it. I’m on the lookout for something to carry my cell phone and house key. I have some comfortable workout pants but they don’t have a pocket. I don’t listen to an IPod on my walk…the sounds of nature provide the background music I need to pray and reflect. I tried a small over the neck purse yesterday but that was just annoying so I’m searching for an armband accessory. Cathy Zielske has been on a quest for fitness this year and some of her accessories and workout clothes are (in her words) “Oh for cute” (Isn’t that a sweet expression). Anyway, I am not a fitness guru by any means but am working on staying active. Am going to try a new water aerobics class that is offered more often than the one I’ve been going to.
I am getting together with a couple of friends for a scrapping get-together on Saturday. Not sure if I’m going to scrapbook (it’s hard for me to scrap and talk at the same time!), so I may work on cards…maybe even Christmas cards, but I know for a fact that M&M’s and yummy snacks and food will be part of our day!
I "cheerfully give" as much as possible,but it really embarrasses my daughter.I walk up to people and tell them how great they look.I hope you find out whats wrong soon.I had 4 months of severe pain and had trouble walking.But my prolapsed disc is now on the mend.So I hope yours is fixable too.
Posted by: Karen Aldrin | August 22, 2010 at 03:05 PM